London

EUROPE'S richest man, Bernard Arnault, is among a pack of potential bidders vying for London's Ritz Hotel, according to a report in The Times of London.

The chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is among about 13 interested parties that have been allowed to undertake due diligence, the newspaper said.

The five-star hotel in the British capital is being sold by the Barclay brothers and could fetch as much as £800 million (S$1.42 billion).

Luxury brands have stepped up investments in high-end hotels in recent years, seeking to diversify their interests and deepen ties to the world's wealthiest consumers.

LVMH spent some US$2.6 billion last year to buy Belmond, which owns or has stakes in more than 30 properties around the world.

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Representatives for LVMH and the Barclay brothers declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg

A dispute between the heirs of the hotel's current owners exploded into public view last week.

Frederick Barclay alleged that he had been secretly recorded at the Ritz by his identical twin's children, a court heard.

The spat, together with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus around the world, could weigh on the eventual sale price of the Ritz Hotel, The Times said.

Other parties that are bidding for the storied property include Sidra Capital, the Financial Times reported earlier this year. BLOOMBERG